Almost at the same time that Team Rocket began preparing for battle at full speed, a report stirred undercurrents at the Pokémon League headquarters far away on the Indigo Plateau.
The Pokémon poachers whom Team Rocket had bundled up on the Seafoam Islands and handed over to the Pokémon League as a "pledge of allegiance" had finally broken after several days in custody. Under Officer Jenny's relentless, round-the-clock interrogation, their psychological defenses collapsed completely, and they revealed some crucial information.
The interrogation room was lit by a harsh, pallid light. A poacher leader slumped listlessly in his chair, describing that night's encounter in a hoarse voice.
"...We never even got a clear look at who they were." Lingering fear filled his eyes. "It all happened too fast. We'd just subdued that Dewgong when...when it was like dozens of green ghosts appeared around us. There was no sound, not a single sound...and then all our Pokémon went down."
Officer Jenny, who was leading the interrogation, knitted her brows. From the jumble of statements, she keenly picked out a crucial inconsistency.
These poachers did not seem to have been captured by a Pokémon League patrol, as the initial report had claimed.
According to their descriptions, another mysterious force with better equipment, greater professionalism, and an appalling level of tactical proficiency had robbed them in an almost entirely one-sided assault that left them no chance to fight back. After seizing all their spoils, those people had tied them up tightly and dumped them like garbage for the Pokémon League patrol that arrived afterward.
That way of operating...brazen, efficient, and highly purposeful.
This intelligence made the experienced Officer Jenny realize that the situation was far more serious than expected. She immediately submitted the interrogation report, along with her own analysis, to the Pokémon League's